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General Non-Fiction

Jon Turk

Jon Turk received his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1971, wrote the first environmental science textbook in North America, and continued writing textbooks for 40 years. During those decades, he also engaged in extreme outdoor expeditions. Jon’s circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island with Erik Boomer was nominated by National Geographic as one of the top ten adventures of 2011. His most recent trade book, The Raven’s Gift, (St Martin’s Press) chronicles physical and spiritual passages in northeastern Siberia. His current project, Crocodiles and Ice: A Journey into Deep Wild, will be released by Oolichan Press in 2016. www.jonturk.net

Works

2010

The Raven's Gift: A Scientist, a Shaman, and their Remarkable Journey Through the Siberian Wilderness

In Siberia, the harshest of lands, I met Moolynaut, a shaman of the Koryak people. Through her teachings, my own adventures, and the patient conversations of many men and women, I have begun to see the world as our ancestors saw it, sustainable and full of wonder. Slowly, I am realizing that the lessons and experiences we learn from the people who live in wilderness — and ultimately from Wilderness itself — can guide us through our passages in this oil soaked, internet crazed, madcap world. In 2000, in the remote Siberian village of Vyvenka, I met a Koryak shaman named Moolynaut. A year later, Moolynaut entreated the spirit of a great black raven to help mend my injured pelvis. As scientist, I could find no rational explanation for the healing so I traversed the frozen tundra where Moolynaut was born, camping with bands of reindeer herders, and recording stories of their lives and spirituality. Framed by high adventure across the vast and forbidding Siberian landscape, The Raven’s Gift is a life-altering vision of the ties between the natural and spiritual realms, informed by one man’s awakening and guided by the ancient Spirit Bird who soars above us on wide black wings.